Julie Taymor

One of the most cerebral and experimental of theatrical directors and designers, whose fusion of folklore, puppetry and intellectually demanding themes made her a favorite of those with a taste for th...
Read More...

The composers behind the music for The Theory Of Everything and Homeland were feted with the top prizes during the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Film & Television Music Awards on Monday night (09Mar15). The Theory of Everything composer Johann Johannsson, who was nominated for Best Original Score at last month's (Feb15) Oscars, took home Film Score of the Year, while Sean Callery, who wrote the music for TV drama Homeland, as well as Bones and Elementary, was named the TV Composer of the Year.
Veteran film composer Elliot Goldenthal was lauded for his career achievements with the ASCAP Founders Award.
Prior to accepting his prize, video messages from the likes of Salma Hayek and director Julie Taymor and other collaborators were show. Hayek worked with Goldenthal on 2002's Frida, for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Original Score.

Anne Hathaway is to portray a pregnant fighter pilot in a new one-woman show in New York. The Interstellar star will hit the stage at the Public Theater in George Brant’s Grounded this spring (15).
The play - about a woman forced to step down from the cockpit when her superiors discover she's expecting - will be directed by Julie Taymor, the brains behind The Lion King and Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark spectaculars.

The Lion King stage musical has officially become the highest grossing entertainment production in any media in the world. The theatre version of the hit Disney film, featuring music by Sir Elton John and Sir Tim Rice, opened in 1997 and recently became the first Broadway show to rack up $1 billion in profits, and now the musical has roared its way into the record books once more by earning $6.2 billion in worldwide box office sales.
Data compiled by Disney bosses reveal touring and international versions of the show have now been seen by more than 75 million people in 22 global productions.
The figure - which does not include merchandise sales - places The Lion King, directed by Julie Taymor, ahead of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which has played to audiences around the globe and brought in $6 billion in show profits since its launch in 1986.
Disney chief Thomas Schumacher says, "It's difficult not to become emotional at this realisation of the show's impact.
"Our goal then was to tell the story purely and theatrically so that audiences could feel it in their hearts. And, to this day, that is the audience experience, whether they see the show in Madrid; Appleton, Wisconsin; South Africa; Tokyo or Broadway. Of that, we are deeply proud."

Producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark are developing two animated films, Rio and Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, for the stage. The beleaguered superhero musical's lead producers, Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris, are setting their sights on two new projects which will transform the hit films into musicals.
Cohl and Harris tell the New York Times they are hoping to open Rio, based on the 2011 film about two blue macaws falling in love, in the titular city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in time to coincide with the 2016 Summer Olympics.
If the run proves successful, they are hoping to bring the production to Broadway.
As for Chipwrecked, the producing duo is developing a live stage show about the trio of musical chipmunks, and a tour of theatres across the U.S. is expected next spring (15).
Cohl and Harris also revealed they have nixed plans to bring Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark to Las Vegas, and instead are focusing on an arena tour, which is expected to open late 2015 or early 2016.
Cohl says in a statement, "Las Vegas was never a done deal; it's simply a market that we were exploring - among other possibilities - and still are. Our favorite possibility for the future life of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark always has been the arena tour, and we are thrilled that it has materialized."
The musical, which features a score by U2 stars Bono and The Edge, ended its three-year run in January (14). The show was troubled with months of delays and setbacks, including the exit of director/writer Julie Taymor, a number of injuries sustained by castmembers, and a ballooning budget which made it the most expensive Broadway production of all time at $75 million (£44 million).

Producers behind Broadway's beleaguered Spider-Man musical made the difficult decision to close the show after a series of onstage injuries left them unable to obtain the necessary insurance. Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark, which features a score by U2 stars Bono and The Edge, opened in June, 2011 after months of delays and setbacks, including the exit of director/writer Julie Taymor.
A number of castmembers also sustained nasty injuries during previews, including Spider-Man stunt double Kevin Aubin, who broke both wrists, actress Natalie Mendoza, who left the show after suffering concussion, and Christopher Tierney, who underwent back surgery and months of rehabilitation after a serious stage fall.
Producers recently announced the curtain will fall on the musical in January (14), and producer Michael Cohl has now revealed insurance issues are to blame for the closure, telling the New York Post, "We don't have injury insurance, so we have to close the show," while jokingly referencing U.S. President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms by adding, "We tried to get on the website for Obamacare, but we couldn't."
However, Cohl is convinced the musical, which holds the title of Broadway's most expensive production, will eventually be a huge success as bosses plan to move the show to Las Vegas.
He adds, "I guess we'll call the money we spent in New York 'research and development'... I think we've established a really good brand that will be even better the second, the third, the fourth time out."

Musical The Lion King is set to become Broadway's first show to reach $1 billion in grosses, according to new box office estimates. The musical adaptation of Disney's hit animated movie is slated to reach a musical theatre milestone, earning the 10-figure gross following the week of performances ending 20 October (13).
The production debuted in 1997, and is even beating out the Broadway's longest-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera, which has been entertaining audiences since 1988, but has yet to reach the billion dollar mark.
The Disney production, which features music from Sir Elton John and direction from former Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark visionary Julie Taymor, will also become the fourth longest-running show on Broadway in a few weeks, edging out revolutionary musical, Les Miserables.

Moviemaker Julie Taymor has settled her long-running legal spat with the producers of Broadway show Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. Pending litigation between the parties has been settled by mutual agreement and all claims have been resolved.
Taymor parted ways with the producers at the end of 2011 after developing the show with U2 stars Bono and The Edge, and she filed suit against 8 Legged Productions executives Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris, accusing them of failing to pay her in full.
Cohl and Harris denied the claims and filed a countersuit, but they reached a deal over those issues in February, 2012.
Taymor continued to fight for half of all profits derived from the sale, licensing or leasing of the rights to the original Spider-Man book, and lawyers for both parties filed documents in a New York court revealing an "agreement in principle" had been reached last August (12).
Manhattan Federal Court Judge Katherine Forrest gave the warring sides 60 days to sign a final settlement to put the case to rest.
Confirming the settlement on Wednesday (10Apr13), Cohl and Harris released a joint statement which reads: "We're happy to put all this behind us. We are now looking forward to spreading Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark in new and exciting ways around the world."
Taymor adds, "I'm pleased to have reached an agreement and hope for the continued success of Spider-Man, both on Broadway and beyond."

Taymor, who was fired from the once much-maligned musical in March, 2011, filed suit against 8 Legged Productions executives Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris in November (11), accusing them of failing to pay her in full for her work on the show she helped to develop and owing her royalties.
Cohl and Harris denied the claims and filed a countersuit, but they reached a deal over those issues in February (12).
Taymor continued to fight for half of all profits derived from the sale, licensing or leasing of the rights to the original Spider-Man book and, on Thursday (30Aug12), lawyers for both parties filed documents in a New York court revealing an "agreement in principle" had been reached.
Manhattan Federal Court Judge Katherine Forrest gave the warring sides 60 days to sign a final settlement to put the case to rest.
However, if discussions break down, the case could head to trial.
No details about the deal have been released.
The production, which features music by U2 stars Bono and The Edge, opened for previews in 2010, but suffered a number of setbacks and cast injuries before the curtain officially went up in June, 2011.

Producers behind Broadway's Spider-Man musical are struggling to find a home for the show in London because no West End theatres are big enough to accommodate the massive production.
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark opened in New York last year (11) and went on to break Broadway box office records despite numerous setbacks, including on-stage injuries, delays, spiralling costs and the departure of director Julie Taymor.
Bosses behind the show, which features music by U2 stars Bono and The Edge, are now hoping to transfer the musical to London's West End and producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris recently embarked on a venue-scouting trip around the U.K. capital.
However, they are struggling to find a theatre with enough space to accommodate the huge stage sets.
Show spokesman Rick Miramontez tells British newspaper the Daily Mail, "Short of building a theatre, there doesn't seem to be a solution."

The production has raked in a total of $853,846,062 (GBP533,654,039) since its 1997 debut - over $700,000 (GBP437,500) more than Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom.
And President of Disney Theatrical Productions, Thomas Schumacher, is thrilled by the amazing feat, telling the Associated Press, "This accomplishment belongs to our audiences, millions of whom are experiencing their first Broadway show at The Lion King. Surely, introducing so many to the splendor of live theatre is our show's greatest legacy."
The Disney production, which features tunes from Sir Elton John and direction from former Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark visionary Julie Taymor, is the sixth longest-running show on Broadway.

Title

Directed the musical adaptation of Spider-Man for Broadway, titled "Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark"; also wrote the book with Glen Berger; stepped down as director after several weeks of previews and numerous problems

Joined Herbert Blau's experimental theater company Kraken at Oberlin

Made feature directorial debut with "Titus," an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus"

Acted with several theater companies in NYC including the Open Theatre and Bread and Puppet Theater

Staged Mozart's "The Magic Flute" in Florence, Italy

First interdisciplinary stage production, "Way of Snow"; combined elements of Eskimo, Indonesian and American culture

Directed and co-wrote (with Eliot Goldenthal) "Liberty's Taken," an irreverent look at the American Revolution

Directed a production of "The Magic Flute" for the Metropolitan Opera

Made TV debut as director, producer and writer with the PBS production, "Fool's Fire," an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's "Hopfrog"

Performed as a child with the Boston Children's Theatre

Received acclaim in NYC for her designs for "The Haggadah"

Designed first US stage production, "The Odyssey"

Staged production of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," with the character of Ariel represented by a Japanese bunraku puppet; recreated staging in 1987 and 1992

Received a Watson Traveling Fellowship to study in Asia

Directed "The Transposed Heads," a collaboration with Goldenthal at the American Musical Theater Festival

Directed Stravinsky's opera "Oedipus Rex" in Japan; production recreated for PBS in 1993

Directed the opera "Grendel" for the Los Angeles Opera

Directed Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" at the Theatre for a New Audience

Directed third feature, "Across the Universe," a 1960s love story set to the music of the Beatles

Provided visual concept and designed puppets for the American Repertory Theatre's staging of "The King Stag"

Had off-Broadway success with "The Green Bird"; created in collaboration with Goldenthal

Directed the Broadway production of "Juan Darien"; was also the co-writer, co-scenic designer and co-costume designer; earned Tony nominations for Best Musical, Best Director and Best Scenic Designer

Directed a film version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"

Designed and staged the Broadway version of Disney's "The Lion King"; also contributed to the book and score; show received 11 Tony nominations including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score and Best Director

Summary

One of the most cerebral and experimental of theatrical directors and designers, whose fusion of folklore, puppetry and intellectually demanding themes made her a favorite of those with a taste for the cutting edge, Julie Taymor worked almost exclusively in the world of the not-for-profit theater before bringing her downtown sensibility uptown as director of "The Lion King" (1997), Disney's remarkable marriage of art and commerce at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theater. The media giant's deep pockets enabled her to experiment with new kinds of puppetry - to sculpt, to build and to test - resulting in what <i>The New York Times</i> called "the most memorable, moving and original theatrical extravaganza in years." Disney did not compromise Taymor's distinctive Indonesian-influenced minimalist style of mixing live actors, puppets, shadows and masks, which earned her two Tony Awards (for directing and costumes) and her first exposure to mainstream audiences, drawing comparisons to such legends as Bob Fosse, Michael Bennett and Harold Prince.